Jennette's Pier: Two Dollars to Walk on the Ocean

In short

Jennette's Pier is at 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head, run by the North Carolina Aquariums. Walking on costs $2. An all day fishing pass is $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. It is open year round, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. from May through October and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from December through March, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. The pier is 1,000 feet long, concrete, and fully accessible.

Where: Nags Head, NC
Cost: $2 walk-on. Fishing $15 adult, $10 child 12 and under
Season: Open year round. Hours change with the season, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer
Time needed: 30 minutes to walk it, a full day to fish
Good for: Anyone, including people who cannot manage a beach walk. Fully accessible
Address: 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, NC 27959

Waves breaking under the concrete pier with the pier house at its landward end — The 2011 pier is concrete, which is why it is still standing. Photo by Roger Mulligan, CC BY 2.0.

Most of what there is to do on the Outer Banks costs real money or requires you to cross a lot of sand. Jennette's Pier does neither. Two dollars gets you a thousand feet out over the Atlantic on a flat concrete deck, and you can do it in a wheelchair, in flip flops, or with a pushchair.

The pier you walk on is not the old one. Work began on the original in May 1939, built by Warren Jennette Sr. of Elizabeth City, and it ran 750 feet on wooden pilings. Hurricane Isabel took it apart in 2003. What replaced it was dedicated in May 2011: 1,000 feet of concrete, wind turbines on the deck, and the North Carolina Aquariums running the whole thing.

The two dollar walk is the point

Walk-on sightseeing is $2. That is not a typo and it is not a promotion. It buys you the full length of the pier, which on a rough day means standing directly above water that is throwing itself at the pilings underneath you.

Go at either end of the day. Sunrise over the ocean from a thousand feet out is the reason people who live here still pay the two dollars, and the pier opens at 6 a.m. through the summer specifically so you can.

Waves breaking hard against the concrete pilings under the pier deck — The concrete pilings are the whole reason this pier survived storms the last one did not. Photo by Roger Mulligan, CC BY 2.0.

It makes its own surf break

A pier changes how sand moves, and the sandbar that builds alongside Jennette's produces one of the more reliable breaks on this part of the coast. On a good swell there will be surfers working the water on both sides of the structure, and from the deck you are looking almost straight down at them.

That is worth knowing in both directions. If you are here to surf, this is where to look. If you are here to swim with small children, pick a stretch of beach well away from the pier, because rip currents run alongside these structures and the surfers are there for a reason.

A surfer riding a wave in the broken water beside the pier — The sandbar beside the pier is what makes the break. It is also why this is a poor place to swim. Photo by Roger Mulligan, CC BY 2.0.

Fishing, hours and the practical part

An all day pass is $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. If you are after cobia or king mackerel there is a $15 add-on pass. Taxes are added on top.

You do not need to bring anything. The pier house rents rods and sells bait, so a decision made over breakfast can be a morning on the water by nine. That matters more than it sounds on a coast where most fishing involves a boat, a charter fee and a booking made weeks ahead.

Because the state aquariums run it rather than a private operator, there are educational programmes and exhibits in the pier house, and the building doubles as an events and banquet space.

The address is 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, and the number is (252) 255-1501. About ten minutes south of Kill Devil Hills on the beach road.

Hours move with the season, and this is the part people get wrong in winter. May through October it is 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. December through March it closes at 5 p.m. November and April sit in between at 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is shut on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

The pier and the pier house are fully ADA accessible, which is rare here and worth knowing if anyone in your group cannot manage soft sand.

Prices and hours are set by the aquariums and change, so check the official pier page before you drive down.

Choppy grey water and breaking surf off the end of the pier — Autumn brings the wind, the swell and the better fishing at the same time. Photo by Roger Mulligan, CC BY 2.0.

Common questions

How much does it cost to walk on Jennette's Pier?

$2 for walk-on sightseeing, which is the cheapest thing to do on this stretch of coast. An all day fishing pass is $15 for adults and $10 for children aged 12 and under, with a $15 add-on for a cobia or king pass. Taxes are extra.

What are the hours?

They change with the season. May through October it is 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. November and April, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. December through March, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Do you need your own fishing gear?

No. The pier house rents rods and sells bait, so you can turn up with nothing and be fishing in a few minutes. There is also a pier shop and an ocean-side snack counter.

Is it accessible?

Yes. The pier and the pier house are fully ADA accessible, which makes it one of the few places on the Outer Banks where someone using a wheelchair can get a proper ocean view without crossing sand.

Who runs it?

The North Carolina Aquariums, the same state body that runs the aquarium on Roanoke Island. That is why there are educational programmes and exhibits on a fishing pier, and why it is not a private commercial operation.

Sennah's Shack in Kill Devil Hills, seen from the air

Staying nearby?

The pier is about 10 minutes south of our places in Kill Devil Hills, straight down the beach road.

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